


That Night

by menel



Series: Drifting [1]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: M/M, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 05:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/menel/pseuds/menel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s Raleigh’s twenty-first birthday and he finds himself alone in Manila.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Night

**Author's Note:**

> If you ship this pairing, the way the film ends makes it ripe for hurt/comfort fic. While I’m a huge fan of h/c, I also wanted to explore the idea of Raleigh and Herc meeting each other before the end of the world. Please forgive the many liberties I’ve taken with the characters’ backgrounds.

_Damn him. Damn him_. The two words reverberated around in Raleigh’s skull. This was their first foreign deployment since completing Jaeger training and his brother was being an _asshole_. 

Raleigh and Yancy had fought a lot growing up but it had been always been a healthy sort of competition. And they could never truly stay mad at each other, not when they depended on each other so completely, especially after their parents had died. Yancy had practically raised him since they’d gone to live with their deadbeat uncle who had drunk too much. Uncle Frank had been content to sit around his house and collect his disability checks. Life there could’ve been a living hell, but Yancy had protected him from the worst of it even though Raleigh could hold his own. Their uncle had been a hard man right up until the day his liver had finally failed him. Yancy was on his way to college by then, while Raleigh was barely staying in school. He’d already been forced to repeat a year. Who knows how their lives would’ve ended up if the PPDC hadn’t come to town with their propaganda machine, trying to get more people involved in the war and recruiting pilots for the Jaeger program? But Raleigh had been too young. 

“Finish school, kid,” Yancy had said. “Then we’ll sign up.” 

Raleigh had made his brother promise. Afterwards, school wasn’t such a bad place to be. His grades went up although you’d never mistake him for the straight-A kid with the nerdy glasses. He still got into a lot of fights, but instead of the after-school sort that had often landed him in the principal’s office or Saturday detention, these fights were ‘official’ as Raleigh threw himself into all the extra-curricular martial arts sports his school had to offer. He was a good fighter. It came naturally to him. Finally, there was a proper release for all the energy he carried around and he had a goal to work towards – becoming a Jaeger pilot. Sure, he couldn’t do it without Yancy and there was no guarantee that they’d even be compatible (Raleigh believed blindly that they were, it was unthinkable that they couldn’t be), but Yancy had promised and his brother never broke his word. 

After four years of high school (Yancy had completed his degree at the university), they were at the Jaeger Academy in Kodiak Island, the fucking coldest place the Becket brothers had ever visited. The cold was the least of their problems as they entered the grueling training program. Their drift compatibility was uncommonly high; it was the perfect neural handshake. They completed the six-month training program in half the time and were sent to San Francisco to patrol the coastline. After six more months of relative quiet and one Kaiju kill on their belt, the Becket brothers were in Manila where a greater percentage of Kaiju attacks had beleaguered the region in recent months. 

Now, on his twenty-first birthday, Raleigh found himself walking the streets of Manila alone instead of celebrating his birthday all because he and his brother had had some stupid fight. The thing is, they hardly ever fought anymore, not since that first drift. What was there to fight about when the person you drifted with knew everything about you? Knew everything you felt? Experienced every memory that you had? Before drifting, Raleigh didn’t believe such intimacy could be possible, didn’t believe you could know someone so completely. But now he _knew_ his brother and his brother _knew_ him. What the fuck was there to fight about? 

Raleigh didn’t realize he’d said his last thought out loud until the Filipino man walking in the opposite direction gave him a funny look. That’s when he noticed that he’d stopped walking and was standing in the middle of the sidewalk as people brushed by him. Technically, he wasn’t even in Manila. He was approximately 100 kilometers north of the capital city at Subic Bay, a thriving Freeport zone. The former U.S. Naval Base had been converted into a mini-Shatterdome of sorts where quick repairs could be made. Subic Bay was too strategically located to be under-utilized. However, the Hong Kong base, the first of the Shatterdomes to be built, was still considered the military heart, not only of the region but also of the whole Pacific Rim. 

He looked to his left as his eyes followed a stately blond woman enter a building. Raleigh looked up at the sign above the establishment and let out a soft “Huh.” Maybe drifting had given him an intuitive second sense since he was standing right outside the establishment he’d been looking for all along. Even if Yancy wouldn’t have a drink with him, it was his _birthday_ godamnit. He could get shit-faced if he wanted to. Well, maybe not shit-faced, he amended. There was always the chance he’d be called into duty and he couldn’t effectively pilot a Jaeger with a hangover. He wouldn’t do that to his brother (not to mention the millions of people that were depending on them), no matter how much of an _asshole_ his brother was being. But a drink or two wouldn’t hurt, and getting laid would be even better. 

The bar was called Absinthe and it was patronized by a wide clientele, mostly of the expatriate crowd. It was relatively upscale, not the sort of place Raleigh would go to for a drink but when he’d asked around the PPDC for some place discreet, this was the place that had been repeatedly recommended. It was Raleigh’s first night in the Philippines. He could find some place that better suited him later. In the meantime, this place would do. His goals were simple enough. 

Raleigh headed straight for the wide semi-circular bar. The blond he had seen enter was also there, but she was already chatting with a male companion as she stirred her cocktail. Raleigh ordered whiskey straight up and took a long drink before turning around to get a good look at the room. He could tell the military folks right away (you just knew your own kind) and his eyes lightly glossed over that crowd. It wasn’t smart to fuck someone you had a probability of working with. The rest were mostly suits, government types or businessmen. Not his crowd at all. That is, until his eyes rested on the one figure that looked even more out of place than him. He eyed the man with interest. He was older than Raleigh, hell he was older than Yancy, but that was a plus in Raleigh’s book. It meant experience. He was sitting by himself at a table in a corner of the room, nursing his own glass of whatever he was drinking. There was a strong possibility that the stranger was also military, but Raleigh was too taken with him to care at the moment. He noted that the man’s glass was almost empty and on the spur of the moment, he turned around and caught the bartender’s attention and ordered another whiskey.

* * * * *

Herc was sitting by himself in the corner of the room. The Philippines was a nice country but he’d much rather be back in Australia, overseeing things in Sydney. Moreover, he didn’t like leaving his boy with his witch of a mother-of-law. She was always trying to turn Chuck against him, blaming him for the death of her daughter as if the Kaiji War hadn’t been a factor. But he was here as a favor to Stacker and he owed his friend. The PPDC was testing a new predictive technology, one that could turn the tide of the war permanently. He’d meet the pilots that had been sent over from San Francisco in the morning. Two brothers. They were still fairly new to the Jaeger Program but very promising. Stacker had trained them himself and he’d spoken highly of them, had recommended them personally for this test over more experienced pairings. Herc had brought their files home with him but he hadn’t opened them yet. He’d review their files later tonight before turning in. Draining the last of his drink, he was about to stand up when another glass was placed in front of him. He looked up and saw a young man standing there, holding his own glass as he watched Herc.

“You look like you could use another,” he said by way of greeting, motioning in the direction of Herc’s empty glass. 

“I was just about to leave,” Herc said politely as he stood up. 

A flash of dismay crossed the young man’s features but it was quickly erased by a grin. 

“Stay,” the stranger implored. “Just for one drink. I just got here,” he explained, leaning in and dropping his voice in a conspiratorial manner. “And I don’t think there’s anyone else here I’d be interested in having a drink with.” 

Against his better judgment, Herc found himself completely taken with this stranger. There was no doubt he was very good looking, boyishly charming and confident. And that smile. Christ, it was practically blinding him in the bar’s ambient lighting. At Herc’s hesitation, the stranger continued. 

“Please,” he said. “It’s my birthday and I’d rather not drink alone.” 

The spell was momentarily broken as Herc laughed. “Really?” he said good-humoredly. “It’s your birthday?” 

The blinding smile was back. “Wanna see some ID?” 

Herc shook his head. “One drink,” he said, sitting back down with a shake of his head. He was really getting soft if he was allowing a kid to pick him up like this. _It’s just a drink_ , he told himself sternly. Nothing more. But one look at his new companion told him that he’d have to steel his resolve. He hadn’t felt this tempted in a _long_ time. He picked up the glass the stranger had brought him and held it in a toast as he said, “Happy Birthday.” 

The young man clinked his glass against Herc’s and they both took a long sip. When he put his glass down, he stretched comfortably in the chair opposite Herc, one of his legs brushing against Herc’s under the table. He didn’t apologize for the action, but he was watching Herc carefully and Herc wasn’t all that comfortable with the scrutiny. 

“Can’t be having a very good birthday,” Herc said in an attempt to start a conversation. “If you’re sitting here with a stranger having a drink.” 

The smile dimmed somewhat. “No,” the man agreed. “It hasn’t been a very good day.” Then he looked straight at Herc as he said, “But it’s starting to look a lot better.” 

Herc returned the look evenly before taking a sip of his whiskey to hide how flustered he really was. The kid was good. Smooth for someone so young. 

“Far from home?” he asked. 

“You could say that,” the stranger agreed. He tilted his head to the right. “ _You_ don’t sound very far from home,” he pointed out, referring to Herc’s accent. 

Herc shook his head. “I’m not,” he replied. These days he thought of the whole Australasia and South Pacific region as his home. 

“I’ve always wanted to visit Australia,” his companion said thoughtfully. “Seems like a nice place. Laid back. Great beaches.” 

“There are some pretty great beaches here,” Herc said. 

The blinding smile was back together with the flirtatious tone. “You gonna show them to me?” 

Herc grinned in spite of himself. “I don’t even know your name.” 

In a flash, the stranger’s hand was extended to him across the small table. “Raleigh,” he said. 

“Herc,” he said in reply, shaking Raleigh’s hand. Raleigh had a firm grip to go with everything else that was attractive about him, right down to his name. _Raleigh_ , he repeated in his head. He liked it. 

“Is Herc short for something?” Raleigh asked. “Like . . . Hercules, maybe?” He began to laugh at his own joke until he realized that Herc wasn’t joining in. He stopped laughing with a startled expression. “Shit. It is, isn’t it?” 

Herc wasn’t pissed. He was used to that kind of reaction actually, but he liked seeing his confident younger companion lose his composure for a moment. It made him seem more normal instead of the Greek god he was starting to think the kid might be. Maybe he should’ve been named Apollo instead of Raleigh. 

Raleigh regained his composure quickly, which didn’t surprise Herc in the least. The kid always seemed to be thinking ahead, planning out the next strategy. That’s what this whole thing was, wasn’t it? Some sort of strategy designed to . . . he couldn’t finish the thought. He didn’t want to presume, and he didn’t trust himself to _not_ accept what _might_ be offered to him. 

“I can’t believe your parents actually named you Hercules,” Raleigh was saying, but there was no malice in his tone and his smile was genuine. “I can appreciate the resemblance.” He leaned forward slightly. “So, Herc. You live near here?” 

Herc shook his head, but it was more a combination of disbelief and amusement rather than in answer to Raleigh’s question. 

“You don’t waste any time,” he observed. 

“Don’t have a lot of time to waste,” Raleigh answered. “Got an early start in the morning.” 

“That’s why you’re prowling the city at night?” 

Raleigh shrugged, still grinning. “It _is_ my birthday,” he pointed out. He didn’t say any more but his unvoiced suggestion hung in the air between them. 

Herc held the young man’s gaze. _What the hell?_ he thought. He could be this kid’s birthday present if that’s what Raleigh wanted. He finished the rest of his whiskey and took out his wallet, leaving several bills on the table. 

“Wait a minute,” Raleigh objected. “I was supposed to buy you that drink.” 

Herc shrugged as he stood up again. “It’s your birthday, right?” 

“Well, at least I got a drink out of it,” Raleigh mused, clearly not realizing that Herc was about to accept his offer. 

“Finish up,” Herc told him. “I got an early start tomorrow as well.” 

There was a flash of understanding in those blue eyes as Raleigh did as he was told before standing up. “Where to?” he asked with that smile that Herc could get used to. 

Herc didn’t answer, but he did smile back.

* * * * *

There was no way that Herc was going to take Raleigh back to his temporary PPDC quarters. It wouldn’t be professional and he kinda liked the idea of Raleigh not knowing what he did and vice versa. Herc didn’t have a lot of mystery in his life and the appearance of this kid was nothing short of remarkable.

Instead, he brought Raleigh to a discreet hotel around the corner from the bar. Both places were owned by the same businessman and the clientele of one place often frequented the other, or so Herc had been told. He rarely went to Absinthe despite its convenience and he’d certainly _never_ picked anyone up there to bring to the hotel. Although, glancing at Raleigh who was walking beside him, he got the distinct impression that the kid had picked _him_ up. 

“This place is nice,” Raleigh commented when they were in the room, and he sounded distinctly surprised. 

Herc fought back a laugh. “You were expecting some place cheap and dingy?” he joked, shedding his worn leather jacket and placing it at the back of a chair. When he didn’t get an answer, he turned around and was promptly slammed into the wall behind him as Raleigh fiercely kissed him. Herc’s response was instinctive and he kissed back just as fiercely, hands falling to Raleigh’s hips as he brought their lower bodies into closer contact. There wasn’t a telltale hardness rubbing against him, but he knew it was only a matter of time. 

“How do you wanna do this?” Raleigh asked, nuzzling the side of his face when the kiss ended. He looked up as he waited for Herc’s response. 

Herc thumbed the redness that had been left by his stubble burn. Damn. He wanted to kiss him again. Slow, this time. “You’re the birthday boy,” he said, giving in and bringing Raleigh in for another kiss. Herc controlled it this time and Raleigh obliged. It was slower, more exploratory. Part of him thought he should be embarrassed for making out like a teenager, but he’d always enjoyed kissing and Raleigh wasn’t complaining. On the contrary, Raleigh seemed to be enjoying himself too if the hand cradling the back of his neck and the arm that had snaked around his waist were anything to go by. 

Raleigh was breathless, pupils blown wide when the second kiss ended and Herc felt a kernel of satisfaction that he could affect the other man so. 

“I’m an equal opportunity kinda guy,” Raleigh said and it took Herc a moment to figure out what Raleigh meant. He nodded. 

“All right,” he said slowly. “You do me and I do you.” 

Challenge and amusement glinted in Raleigh’s eyes. “Think you can do two rounds, old man?” 

Herc scoffed. “Who said anything about two rounds?” he challenged back.

* * * * *

Raleigh felt like a giant cat; a content, thoroughly fucked out, giant cat and he stretched like one since there was enough space on the bed. Herc had booked a single room with a queen-sized bed and it was the largest, most comfortable bed Raleigh had slept in (figuratively speaking) in quite a while. It felt downright luxurious to him. He wasn’t kidding when he’d described the hotel as ‘nice’ too. It wasn’t the Ritz but it was clean, comfortable and simply furnished. He was more comfortable in this place than at the bar, and it wasn’t because he was in bed with a hot man, though that certainly helped. He rolled over onto his side, facing Herc who appeared to be dozing. This was turning out to be one of his better birthdays too.

“It’s creepy watching people sleep,” Herc told him without opening his eyes. 

Raleigh grinned, certain that Herc could feel it. “Just waiting to see how long it takes you to recover,” he said. 

Herc’s eyes flew open. “Why you . . .” he began but stopped just as abruptly with a shake of his head. He wasn’t going to let Raleigh bait him. “Eager, aren’t you?” he said instead. 

“Young,” Raleigh returned and there was a definitely a smirk in his tone. “And we haven’t got all night.” 

The little reminder dampened Herc’s spirits somewhat. He was being irresponsible. There were the files he needed to go through, the test he needed to prep for in the morning. But Raleigh? Raleigh was _irresistible_ and the kid probably knew it too. 

“What were you doing alone in that bar?” he asked, knowing that he probably shouldn’t. “It’s your first night here, isn’t it?” 

“That obvious?” 

“You looked like you were lost when you came in.” 

“I did not,” Raleigh replied, sounding mildly offended. There was a brief pause before he said slyly, “Checking me out, were you?” 

The answer to that was ‘yes,’ but Herc wasn’t about to admit it. No need to bolster the kid’s already inflated ego. 

“I wasn’t the only one who looked out of place there,” Raleigh pointed out when Herc didn’t say anything. “Maybe that’s why we’re both here, huh?” 

That statement sounded spot on to Herc but he repeated his earlier question. “Why were you at that bar?” 

Raleigh let out a loud sigh and rolled onto his back again, stretching one more time. “I had a fight with my brother,” he said at last. “It was stupid really. Just . . .” he trailed off with a frustrated sound. 

“Sucks,” Herc agreed quietly. “Fighting with family on your birthday.” He wasn’t going to ask for the specifics. It wasn’t any of his business. 

“Tell me about it,” Raleigh muttered. “The thing is,” he said after a while. “Me and Yancy, we don’t fight anymore, y’know? Not since we –” It was Raleigh’s turn to stop abruptly. He’d almost said, “ . . . since we drifted.” He coughed. “I mean, we just know each other so completely,” he revised. “It’s like we’re in each other’s heads.” 

“Yeah,” Herc agreed. He thought of his own co-pilot and actually knew exactly how that felt. Dave was a good friend, but it would be different with family. You’d be more invested. He thought of Chuck and how eager his son was to enter the Jaeger Academy when he was eligible, and that was going to be soon enough. One day he could be piloting a Jaeger with his son. The prospect of drifting with his boy both excited and terrified him. Maybe then Chuck would understand all the things he couldn’t say; maybe then he’d understand Chuck better. 

“I work for the PPDC,” Raleigh said suddenly, completely jolting Herc out of his thoughts. “I’m a –” 

“Stop,” Herc said forcefully, with more than a little authority in his voice. Raleigh was looking at him curiously, eyes slightly widened as though seeing him in a new light. “We don’t have to go there,” he explained. “That’s not what this is about,” he went on, this time turning on his side to face the other man. Raleigh mirrored his actions and scooted nearer so that their bodies were flush against each other. 

“It isn’t,” Raleigh agreed, gaze focused solely on Herc’s mouth. 

Herc took the hint and closed the distance between them for the kiss. Kissing Raleigh did make him wonder what ‘this’ was about because they didn’t kiss like the quick suck and fuck of a one-night stand. No, they kissed like lovers and that disconcerted him. 

“Round two?” he whispered against Raleigh’s smug smile while taking his already half-hard cock in hand. 

Raleigh automatically thrust into the heat and Herc massaged the hardening length with smooth strokes. Youth and stamina. He wouldn’t be surprised if Raleigh could go all night. 

“Been waiting on you, remember?” 

Herc growled then and showed his strength by rolling them over so that he had Raleigh pinned beneath him. “It’s my turn,” he said. 

Raleigh ran his hands up Herc’s sides until they were resting on the other man’s shoulders. “Best birthday present ever,” he grinned.

* * * * *

Later – much, much later that dawn would soon be approaching – Herc settled into his small bed at the PPDC quarters with three sets of files beside him. He’d been tempted to stay at the hotel with Raleigh. It would’ve been nice to wake up with that body beside him, to that blinding smile. But he’d put those foolish thoughts away and had kissed Raleigh on the shoulder as he’d slipped out of bed.

“Leaving already?” Raleigh had asked him drowsily. 

“Still got to prep for that early start,” Herc had answered, getting dressed beside the bed. “You should stay though. Enjoy the room. It’s already been paid for.” 

Raleigh had pushed himself up and leaned against the headboard, watching Herc dress with those clear blue eyes. He looked like he was memorizing Herc’s body. Herc knew he’d done the same, cataloguing Raleigh’s body and filing his responses away in case they ever . . . 

“Room’s not the same without you to go with it,” Raleigh had said in that teasing tone he’d used for most of the night, but there was a note of disappointment there too and Herc heard it. “Thanks,” he’d said once Herc was fully dressed. 

The sincerity in the other man’s voice and the open expression on his face almost made Herc strip and get back into bed, but he held himself in check. “No problem,” he said. “Hope you work things out with your brother.” 

Raleigh grinned. “We always do. See you around? Maybe?” 

Herc returned the grin. “Maybe,” he agreed. 

Now, opening the first file beside him, Herc wasn’t surprised to be greeted by the keen blue gaze of Raleigh Becket staring back at him. As if aliens invading through an inter-dimensional space portal at the bottom of the ocean wasn’t enough. This was the universe fucking with him. The next file revealed Raleigh’s older brother, Yancy Becket. Herc sighed and shut both files. He was gonna have to owe Stacker another one. He’d excuse himself from the project and get another Marshal to oversee it. It was last minute, but Stacker would understand. The test was too important to fuck up because he’d gone and unknowingly screwed one of the pilots the night before. And the truth was, Herc didn’t regret that night for one moment. 

 

**Fin.**

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for cheating you all out of the porn. The fic was conceived as a PWP, but once I began writing, the porn wouldn't come (pun intended!) and I ended up with this instead. *shakes head* There's always next time. 
> 
> * * * 
> 
> _Pacific Rim_ belongs to Guillermo del Torro and Legendary Pictures. No offense is intended, no profit is being made.


End file.
